One form of contraception involves the occlusion of reproductive tracts, particularly, the fallopian tubes in female subjects and the vas deferens in male subjects, with an embolic material and/or occluding device that acutely and/or chronically (following foreign body tissue reaction or epithelialization) blocks passage of sperm through the reproductive tract. Particular forms of occluding devices and systems and methods of inserting the occluding devices in the vas deferens or fallopian tubes are described in commonly owned U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,096,052 and 6,432,116 and in commonly assigned U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2001/0041900, 2005/0045183, 2005/0085844, 2005/0192616, 2005/0209633, and 2006/0009798, for example, certain features of which are embodied in the Ovion® permanent contraceptive system sold by the assignee of the present invention. Various contraceptive devices and delivery systems disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2005/0045183, 2005/0209633, 2006/0009798 and 2008/0308110, as well as PCT Patent Application Publication No. 2007/133222 can be employed, in whole or in part, with the present invention. As a result, each of the above-identified disclosures and publications is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The vasectomy is the most common contraceptive procedure performed in males. There are about 60,000 vasectomy reversals performed each year. The procedure involves severing the vas deferens. A vasectomy may be reversed and is commonly accomplished by suturing the two ends of the vas deferens back together. This procedure usually requires the physician 2-4 hours in the operating room working under a microscope. It would be desirable to provide contraceptive systems that provide improved delivery and deployment systems, and implant structures.